After two years away, 'reborn' Mike Swick promises peak form at UFC on FOX 4

LOS ANGELES – When Mike Swick (14-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) steps into the cage at Saturday’s UFC on FOX 4 event, he admits it will already be his first victory of the night.

After all, with more than two years on the sideline, Swick wasn’t exactly sure he’d ever again compete in the octagon.

Of course, just making it back isn’t enough. With a reinvented body and a refocused mind, Swick believes his career has been reborn, and it starts anew against DaMarques Johnson (16-10 MMA, 4-4 UFC).

“It’s a win for me to just get inside that octagon when the door shuts,” Swick told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “When you guys see me walk in and that gate shuts behind me, in my mind that’s win No 1 because I’m back. Then I have to focus on winning that fight and having a great performance.

“It’s set up. The world is going to see. This is my opportunity and my chance to shine and to get my career back where it needs to be.”

Swick’s challenges have been well-documented. Esophageal spasms, which took some time to receive a proper diagnosis, have forced him to all but eliminate caffeine and alcohol, and Swick said most all spices and seasonings have also been ruled out. In its place, Swick said, is a steady diet of items such as quinoa, kale, wheat germ, avocado, vegetables and chicken.

While it took some time for him to find the proper combination of food and supplements necessary to perform as a top-level athlete, Swick said he challenge has proven a blessing in disguise.

“I feel reborn, literally, because of how healthy I have to eat,” Swick said. “I’ve never eaten that healthy before. I’ve never taken diet that serious with the vegetables and the nutrients and all the things I’ve needed. I feel reborn and better than ever.”

The 33-year-old admits there were struggles along the way. Injuries forced him to withdraw from two different scheduled bouts in 2011, and he began to worry he would never again be able to fight. But “Quick” said he never forgot his ultimate dream and refused to give up, regardless of the hurdles placed in his way.

“There were definitely dark times,” Swick said. “That’s when you’ve got to pick yourself up and say, ‘What do you want to do? Do you want to give up and stop, or do you want to be positive and fight this thing out?’ I’ve always been a fighter, so I had to pick myself up and be positive.

“It wasn’t easy. The easy thing to do was quit and say, ‘OK, it’s not for me.’ I didn’t, and I pushed forward, and here I am fighting live on FOX.”

And while new fans to the sport may not even know Swick’s name, the American Kickboxing Academy product is excited to meet a new generation of MMA enthusiasts. But even more enticing is the opportunity to prove his detractors wrong.

“Not a lot of people believed in me,” Swick said. “The critics, they said I was done and I’d never come back. You know what? I’ve proved them wrong my whole career. Saturday night, they’re going to see me back. They’re going to see me live on TV. It’s going to be another dream that I accomplished just because I pushed forward. It’s not because of any special talents. It’s because I pushed forward when it looked like I couldn’t, and I think it’s a very positive thing to do.”

It’s tough to say exactly what a win does for Swick’s career. Once the owner of a 9-1 record in the octagon, he has been on the verge of title shots at both 170 and 185 pounds.

For Swick, all that talk can wait. For the first time since February 2010, it’s his turn to climb into the octagon. There’s no changing the past, but he can’t wait to show what he’s got prepared for the future.

“I think this is going to be the best performance I’ve ever had,” Swick said. “As cliched as that is, I’m in the best shape of my life. I’m faster. I’m more explosive. This diet was a blessing in disguise, for sure.”

Featuring a pair of light-heavyweight title eliminators, UFC on FOX 4 takes place Saturday night at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. Swick and Johnson kick off the evening’s four-fight FOX-broadcast main card following six fights on FUEL TV.

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